Balochistan High Court disposes of Afghan refugees’ petition against deportation

QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) has disposed of a petition challenging the deportation of Afghan refugees.

A two-member bench comprising acting Chief Justice Muhammad Ejaz Swati, and Justice Muhammad Aamir Nawaz Rana, heard the petition, filed by Advocate Nusrat Hassan Afghani.

The petitioners sought court intervention to prevent authorities from harassing POR (Proof of Registration) cardholders, violating their right to dignity and privacy of home, or forcibly relocating them till at least the expiry of the time period indicated in the notification dated 22-07-2024.

During the proceedings, Additional Attorney General Muhammad Fareed Dogar assured the court that officials were complying with the July 22, 2024 notification and would act strictly according to the law, ensuring no harassment of the petitioners.

Notably, last year, the federal cabinet approved one-year extension of the validity of POR (Proof of Registration) cards of 1.45 million Afghan refugees until June 30, 2025.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said that Afghan refugees will not be forced to leave or throw them on the border.

He opposed the government policy to tackle the people who resorted to arms.

“We have to see, why they have taken arms. They are our own people, we have to own them,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s CM here said. “We have solution of terrorism,” Gandapur claimed.

Talking on sending back Afghan refugees to home, KP chief minister said, “We could not throw them back on the border”. “We will not send Afghan migrants back until the Afghan government consents to accept them,” Gandapur said.

He said the KP government will not force any Afghan refugee to return. “We have to move ahead to negotiate with Afghanistan”, he said.